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Hundreds of jobs could go at Devonport dockyard if Portsmouth secures a deal to refit all of the new Type 26 Frigates, it's been warned.

Plymouth scored a victory in the campaign to protect its armed forces after Whitehall defence chief Gavin Williamson announced the new generation of high-tech Type 26s would be base ported in Britain's Ocean City.

But rival port Portsmouth is now muscling in and wants a bit of the pie to bolster its defence arsenal - which already boasts the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The Solent powerhouse has told the Government formally in writing it wants the contract to maintain the fleet once they come into service and return from overseas missions, reports The News, Portsmouth.

Yet Plymouth currently holds the deal to maintain and re-fit all of the nation's frigates - currently the Type 23s - sparking fears there could be waves of redundancies in Devonport should the South East sensationally snatch the deal.

Portsmouth South Labour MP Stephen Morgan, backed by officials from the city's local authority, has demanded a 'prompt answer' from Mr Williamson about the prospect of bagging future frigate maintenance.

Plymouth Moor View Tory MP and ex-soldier Johnny Mercer, who along with Mr Pollard was instrumental in the fight to save the amphibious vessels and ensure the new frigates are based in Plymouth, said: “I haven’t seen the campaign from Portsmouth, but it’s clear to me that the Type 26s that I worked so hard to bring to Plymouth must clearly be refitted as and when that is required, in Plymouth.

"Luke Pollard is always warning of hundreds of jobs disappearing from Plymouth, and yet employment remains at record levels and continues to grow.

"I will follow the debate with interest, always on my guard on the lookout for Plymouth's interests.”

Labour council boss, Tudor Evans, said: "I do hope the government will reject this proposal by Portsmouth - one that would remove well paid jobs and high skills from an area that needs them and give them to an area that has plenty.